Online Gambling Defendants Looking at Hard Time and Long Wait

For defendants in the BetonSports case, which is being prosecuted in the St. Louis 8th Circuit Court, the waiting continues.  No concrete date has been set for the trial.  None of the defendants in this matter have plea bargained.  Some are yet to be apprehended.  But those who have been are looking at some serious time, up to 20 years in fact.  Even the marketing firm and its three principals named in the complaint are looking at hard time despite having little if any say in the day-to-day operation of BetonSports.

"They are looking to move the venue to Florida," someone close to the case disclosed to Gambling911.com today.

Why?

The 8th Circuit Court is among the most brutal in the country for defendants, in particular those involved with online gambling.  The jury pool would not be favorable despite the fact that there is a billboard heading towards the court house advertising river boat casinos.

"That's on the water," someone from St. Louis actually told an individual involved with the BetonSports case.  Such is the mentality in this region.

"It is no coincidence that the US government is having this matter dealt with in St. Louis," our source stated.  "They did not (file the complaint) in LA for a reason."

The suggestion of course being that a Los Angeles populous would likely be more open-minded towards an online gambling matter. 

The World Trade Organization decision related to Antigua's case against the US government's internet gambling stance is also playing a role in extending the scheduling of this trial, even though the defendants cannot use any decision to their advantage directly. 

That is because only the countries that signed off as part of the WTO matter (specifically Antigua and the US) can complain.

A decision in the WTO matter is due out shortly.

In other developments, more than 60 individuals are looking at some hard time in a gambling probe that extended throughout the state of New Jersey and New York City.

That matter just became a little tougher on the defendants as Gambling911.com has learned late Thursday evening that search warrants were just carried out on the main subject's safety deposit boxes and $500,000.00 has been recovered.

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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com

Originally published March 30, 2007 11:33 pm ET